1.7.3-Jealousofthetea
Brick!Club 1.7.3 A Tempest in a Skull Wait. Madeleine is Jean Valjean??? You’re shitting me. "The eye of the spirit can nowhere find more dazzling brilliance and more shadow than in man; it can fix itself on no other thing which is more formidable, more complicated, more mysterious, and more infinite. There is a spectacle more grand than the sea; it is heaven: there is a spectacle more grand than heaven; it is the inmost recesses of the soul." It’s impressive that Valjean’s first instinct was to denounce himself to save Champmathieu. But then, understandably, he decides to at least think about it first. And he does a lot of thinking about it. "He began by recognizing the fact that, critical and extraordinary as was this situation, he was completely master of it. This only caused an increase of his stupor." Yeah, I can imagine it would be very scary to control a situation this difficult. It’s a lot of responsibility. There’s nothing forcing his hand except his own conscience. He comes up with arguments as to why he should do nothing. “it is God who wills it; I can do nothing against the will of God”, “I may one day be a grand and encouraging example”. etc. And yet he’s not comfortable with that decision, despite these reasons he has for it. It sometimes seems like practically every protagonist is a Jesus figure, but most authors are a bit more subtle about it. I love Hugo’s little interruption to explain that Valjean’s not talking out loud. I think I find this book a lot funnier than I’m supposed to. "He felt that he was on the brink of the second decisive crisis of his conscience and of his destiny; that the Bishop had marked the first phase of his new life, and that Champmathieu marked the second." And the bit before that ^ sentence reminds me of after he robs Petit Gervais. “He saw them in conflict. In proportion as he meditated, they grew before the eyes of his spirit. They had now attained colossal statures,” “it seemed to him that the good thought was getting the upper hand.” Kind of similar to when he was mentally comparing himself to the Bishop way back then, no? I’m not at all convinced that living a comfortable life with a guilty conscience would be anywhere near as bad as life in the galleys, but maybe my conscience just isn’t as tough on me as Vajean’s is on him. But anyway, he’s made up his mind, but then he thinks of Fantine, and realises that his decision will affect more people than just himself and Champmathieu. Personally I think he’s right here, that the good he’ll continue to do outweighs the harm that will come to Champmathieu. But Hugo apparently doesn’t agree, because as Valjean throws the candlesticks on the fire he starts arguing with himself again. It says near the beginning of the chapter: “It seemed, as we have already remarked, as though he thought, following the example of all those who have been wise, holy, and just, that his first duty was not towards himself.” And yet in a way he does untimately think of himself first, of his own soul, as opposed to the lives of Fantine, Cosette, and the people of M. sur M… But at the end of this chapter he still hasn’t made up his mind. If only they did fingerprinting or something, this could all have been avoided…